Hajime no Ippo: Best Memorial

30th Anniversary of Serialisation Commemorative Publication Hajime no Ippo Best Memorial, (連載開始30周年記念出版はじめの一歩メモリアルベスト, Rensai Kaishi 30 Shūnenkinen Shuppan Hajime no Ippo Memoriaru Besuto) is the fifth guidebook that was released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Hajime no Ippo. It released in September 18, 2019 with 452 pages.

The book has contains 23 colour illustrations, 9 interviews, 13 columns, and small summaries of volumes 1-125.

Round Table[]

Interview #1 - Birth[]

Hajime no Ippo prototype — Early draft of "Hajime no Ippo" in a high school boxing club setting. Ippo had smooth hair at first.

"There was an experience of three series cancellations before the "Hajime no Ippo" series. Jōji Morikawa-sensei was standing at the edge of a cliff, but for some reason, he uttered that he did not want to draw a boxing-only manga, although he was a manga artist who loved boxing more than anyone else. It can take up to one and a half years until a serialisation storyboard passes. Listen to the secret story behind the birth of "Hajime no Ippo", a birth more difficult than he had imagined."

Jōji Morikawa details his past when he was 23 years old and already had three series cancelled. The editorial department did not want to read his work anymore. Nouchi (野内), who was in charge of editing at the time, told him that the next challenge of making a manga series would be his last. Morikawa felt hopeless as his serialisation meetings consisted of "The storyboard is just written by "Morikawa George", so I don't want to read it.". Nouchi suggested to Morikawa that he should draw a boxing manga series, knowing Morikawa is a boxing enthusiast. Morikawa admired the mangaka Chiba Tetsuya, and did not want to challenge Chiba's "Ashita no Joe" in the same magazine. Morikawa refused Nouchi's suggestion, however, Nouchi repeatedly said “Because it is the last, let's compete in the genre you like best.”. Morikawa viewed boxing manga as a "sanctuary" that he shouldn't invade. Morikawa, however, decided to go through with Nouchi's suggestion and, instead of drawing a boxing manga in a professional boxing setting, he planned to make a high school boxing club setting.

As Morikawa drew storyboards for a high school boxing club setting, he had a hard time drawing a cool and muddy protagonist. He drew a prototype of Ippo, which had a handsome normal face with thick eyebrows. Nouchi's policy was consistent with the idea that he wanted to draw a story about how bad guys would do their best. At the time, "Meimon! The Third Baseball Club” (名門！第三野球部) was a work on the magazine, and Nouchi suggested for Morikawa to draw his characters with a similar muddy look. Morikawa disliked the thought of a "bad protagonist", viewing it as unbalanced to an artist. Morikawa wanted some special features on the protagonist's face, and Nouchi suggested to give him big ears like Suguru Egawa (江川卓). Morikawa's decision of giving Ippo thick eyebrows was his own, and at this point this Ippo was close to the current Ippo. Takamura was already a character in this high school boxing club setting, while Aoki and Kimura had different names. Just like "Hajime no Ippo", Ippo was still a passive child. The story would not move unless there was someone like Takamura who influences and leads others. The storyboard of the “Boxing Club Manga” came out, and the editorial department did not respond well.

At that time, Morikawa stayed in an annex of Kodansha and redrawn the storyboard many times every time he made a mistake. Not knowing what to fix anymore, Morikawa talked to Igarashi (五十嵐), the editor-in-chief at the time. Morikawa was told to change it to a professional boxing setting and to challenge Chiba and his Ashita no Joe. About a half a year later, the storyboard for Hajime no Ippo goes through the serial conference. Morikawa showed Igarashi and, despite another work that was highly evaluated in the department going through, Igarashi said that he wanted to see what happens when his (Morikawa's) work gets drawn professionally, making him stop a start of a different series for Morikawa. With that, Hajime no Ippo series began.

Round 1 was drawn, and the setting of Ippo being the son of a fishing boat shop was taken from a boxer named Suhara Ryūichi (須原隆一), who also won and became the Japanese light flyweight champion. Morikawa thought "A child who is weak and had not played sports, suddenly starting boxing and standing out" means it needs to be repaired. He believed that if he wanted to have a senior high school student have a good match worthy of being ones rival, he has to be some sort of genius or give him background. "Because I'm always on the swinging fishing boat, I can always put my hand out even when I'm hit and lose my balance. With my overwhelming strength of my legs, I can concentrate energy in my fist." With this background, a convincing power is born. There was also a boxer named Yoshiaki Tajima (田島吉秋) who was working at fishing market, and was also a candidate to set up the idea of "I am physically trained because I am working at a fishing market." Morikawa noticed that there was a short work by Chiba called "Fish Shop Champion" (『魚屋チャンピオン』) that was based on a boxer working at a fish market, thinking "that's (the situation about the idea) not good".

In Round 1, Ippo asks Takamura, "What does it mean to be strong?" At first, Morikawa was lost in the dark about the theme, and his first written story of "Ippo meeting Takamura" was not good. Then, after a few rewrites, he didn't remember what was the cause, but he drew a scene where "Takamura grabs the leaves.". The moment Igarashi read it, Igarashi came to bite. Igarashi's favourite phrase is "manga is a one point breakthrough." Morikawa took the one idea and ran with it until half a year later, Ippo's storyboard was written.

Morikawa couldn't believe it when Round 1 got first place in the popularity contest at the time. Thinking the popularity would end in ten weeks, he was pushed by his assistant Takahashi (高橋) to continue for another ten weeks. Afterwards, the ranking didn't drop much, and from Round 5, he was able to get first place for fifty consecutive weeks. He thought "it will end in 10 weeks", "Is it possible to draw for 15 weeks?" "I may be able to go for 20 weeks", until the world opened little by little. Then, "Hajime no Ippo" became his first work where all readers wanted to read more.

1. Suhara Ryūichi (須原隆一) - "Former Japanese light flyweight champion. Height 160 cm, southpaw. In 1991, he retired after returning the title to inherit the family boat business."

2. Tajima Yoshiaki (田島吉秋) - "Former Japanese middleweight champion, former OPBF Oriental and Pacific middleweight champion. In 1990, he retired after losing by TKO in round seven in his first world's challenge in the super middleweight class."

3. "Fish Shop Champion" (『魚屋チャンピオン』) - "Written by Chiba Tetsuya. Published in the April 1962 issue of the "Tanoshii 4-nensei". A work drawn from a boxer who worked at a riverbank in the neighbourhood."

Round 1: The First Step

Column #2[]

Editor in charge of "Hajime no Ippo" talks about "Ippo and Jōji"
Nouchi Masahiro is the first person in charge of Hajime no Ippo, and the current president and representative director of Ichijinsha.

Nouchi was aware that Morikawa liked boxing since his previous work "Signal Blue" was serialised. Even though it was a storyboard meeting for an F1 manga, they were talking about boxing very happily, even imitating Hearns' Flicker in a family restaurant. At that point, boxing manga had a taboo atmosphere even in the editorial department of the magazine, and Nouchi thought that Morikawa himself must have felt "afraid of Chiba-sensei". Even so, Nouchi still wanted to say, "Why don't you compete in boxing manga?". Nouchi thought that many of the young manga artists at that time were shy, and drawing manga was an easy way to let out their feelings, but Morikawa was good at getting to know people and had a fascinating way of talking. Nouchi thought that it was quite rare for a person like him to continue the steady and patient work of drawing manga. Nouchi praised Morikawa's communicative skills, explaining how even when meeting a world champion like Tatsuyoshi in an interview, he was not timid and they got along easily.

Morikawa would frequently say "I've never been able to finish a story until the end (because it was cancelled)". Nouchi is sure that Hajime no Ippo will go on, but he truly hopes that it will make it all the way to the end. In order to do so, it is of course important for the work to continue being popular, but it is also important for the sensei himself to have enough energy and stamina. Nouchi ends the column telling Morikawa to take care of himself, and to keep going until the end.

Interview #2 - Rival[]

"The fated rival, Ichirō Miyata, was actually supposed to end his turn shortly after the series began!? How did Ippo's other rivals, such as Ryō Mashiba, Takeshi Sendō, Volg Zangief, etc. come to be, and what kind of characters are they? You won't help but be astonished by Morikawa-sensei's unique "Methods of Creating a Character""

Matchmaking and the opponents of Ippo in "Hajime no Ippo" are based on Morikawa's interest as a boxing otaku. For example, Ippo's models are Mike Tyson and Ray Mancini. Both of them are fighter types and have an aggressive fighting style. If Morikawa had to pick one, he'd say Ippo is more like Mancini. He would wonder what would happen if Mancini, who bobs and weaves his way to the front, were to face Sugar Leonard, who has extreme speed and artistic technique. Or if he fought Thomas Hearns, who was called "Hitman" and could win with a barrage of Flicker Jabs. Leonard is Miyata's model and Hearns is Mashiba's model. Morikawa wanted to realise his dream title match, which never happened due to the difference in weight class and time period, so he drew this image for himself.

He also thought "I want to make Ippo stronger", drawing it thinking, "I want to make Ippo the world champion," because he believed he was Ippo's second. However he believed that there was something missing in that boy. In the first place, he never once said or even thought that he wanted to become a world champion. So, in order for Ippo to grow steadily, Morikawa tried to make sure that he is not wasting any time in matchmaking, whether it's training him technically by having him fight technical opponents, or mentally by having him fight hungry (for success) men like Keīchi Take.

Ippo and Ichirō Miyata want to fight each other at their best. In fact, in the original concept, Ichirō Miyata's role was going to end after the first sparring session with Ippo. However, the popularity vote for the chapter that featured Miyata was outstanding. Morikawa felt like the readers were telling him, "Oh, perhaps Miyata is an important character.". Then, Miyata lost in the second sparring session, and the next thing Morikawa knew, Miyata had become a very prideful person and quit the gym. It was a surprise to Morikawa as well. Afterwards, even though Morikawa had originally planned to have him face Ippo in the East Japan Rookie King Tournament finals, he lost to Mashiba in the semifinals. But since Miyata lost to Mashiba there, then he would have also lost to Ippo at that point. So, Morikawa told Miyata, "You won't get stronger if you stay in Japan, so go to Thailand for a little training.". At first, Morikawa had planned to finish the Training Overseas Arc in one or two chapters, however, when he saw that it was popular, he found himself drawing almost an entire volume's worth. Back then, there was no concept of spin-offs in the manga world, and Morikawa was worried about proceeding with the story without Ippo, but he felt like the readers were telling him that it was okay to draw it.

Afterwards, Morikawa began to think that he wanted to put Ippo and Miyata against each other in their best condition. As he suspected, Ippo's special move, the Dempsey Roll, is not the best match against counters. One moment he thought, "Oh, Ippo can't beat Miyata if I do this now. I need to improve the Dempsey Roll". Then when he does improve it, "Oh, now Miyata can't beat him". This time, Miyata took Takamura's advice and improved his counters and learned the "Jolt Blow". It's hard to get the two "best" to engage, and Morikawa still finds himself salivating over it.

Sendō and Volg are the "rivals" who brought everything out of Ippo and lost. The model for Takeshi Sendō is Donovan Ruddock, who fought to the death with Mike Tyson. Morikawa wanted to draw the match very much since Ippo is both Tyson and Mancini. Ruddock is the strongest out of the bunch because he has the Smash. Morikawa tries to trace things that happen similar to real boxing matches. For instance, Tyson is trying to get into his opponent's chest, but it's hard to get in because Ruddock is trying to match him with a Smash. Since there were two Tyson vs. Ruddock matches, he was thinking that it would be nice to draw Ippo and Sendō having two matches as well. In fact, the second match became so exciting that it could be called the climax of the first half of Hajime no Ippo.

There are fans who say that Sendō's attitude toward losing was the coolest thing, but that's because Sendō became cool on his own. As with any character, Morikawa doesn't know who they are at all when he starts drawing them. There are fans who say that Sendō's attitude toward losing was the coolest thing, but that's because Sendō became cool on his own. As with any character, Morikawa doesn't know who they are at all when he starts drawing them. For example, when one puts someone in front of them or throw them into a certain situation, how will they react? Just like when he had Sendō meet Ippo, Sendō said to him, "Ya don't know me?". Furthermore, when Ippo got injured and Sendō was given the idea that he might not be able to fight with him due to his injury, he came all the way to the Kamogawa Gym to complain. Then, he goes on a roll and becomes friends with the guys at the gym. At the end, Sendō says, "I'll be waitin' for ya in Osaka!" and forgets to take his souvenirs with him. Around this point, one starts to get a solid idea of what kind of guy he is. That is how he creates his characters. Sendō is a manly man, and in fact, he has a lot of "protagonist attributes" in him. He would constantly take on the passive Ippo and give him everything he had and lose both fights.

Volg Zangief also turned out to be a completely different character than Morikawa originally imagined. Originally, he had the image of Drago from the movie Rocky IV and Yuri Arbachakov, from the "Perestroika" movement, and he thought Volg would be a guy who beat people ruthlessly like a machine. But when Volg met Ippo at the station, he said something like "much trouble". Morikawa thought, "Oh? He's got some humanity in him.". Then, the question is, how will Ippo react to that opponent? Ippo loves polite opponents, so he is sure he'll think, "I have to have a serious fight with this guy.". Even though Sendō seems crude at first glance, Ippo sees his true nature and thinks, "This person is sincere with me.". With such an opponent, Ippo can give it his all. Eiji Date is another example.

Not only was Mashiba's boxing style modelled after Hearns, but his visuals were as well. The real Hearns is very much a gentleman, though, unlike Mashiba. His look and boxing style scared Morikawa, so he drew him with that in mind. Mashiba was so obsessed with not wanting to lose that he did all sorts of dirty things, like stepping on people's feet. Morikawa thought Mashiba realised at some point during the match that he was not going to win against Ippo. After that, Mashiba was quite impressive. When Ippo was only targeting his elbows, he put up with a lot of pain and raised his elbows. Morikawa questions himself why he made Kumi-chan, the girl that Ippo has feelings for, the younger sister of Mashiba, but he answers that he doesn't know either. Thanks to that, he was able to create a lot of entertaining comedic scenes involving Mashiba and Kumi. When he first revealed Kumi, he received a lot of fan letters saying, "That's Miyata's younger sister, isn't it?". He thought to himself, "Oh, yeah, maybe the two look a little bit similar visually speaking. I wonder if that's possible.". In the beginning, Morikawa didn't expect Kumi to be so involved with Ippo. It was Aikawa who he first thought of as the girl who would be involved with Ippo. He is sure the readers have forgotten about it, reminding them that she is the girl who invited the bullied kid, Ippo, to the movies at the beginning of Round 1. Morikawa notes that she hasn't appeared since then, and wonders if maybe she will reappear in the future.

1. Mike Tyson - "A superstar who led the boxing world in the late 1980s by unifying the heavyweight titles of the WBA, WBC, and IBF."
2. Ray Mancini - "Former WBA world lightweight champion. His fierce fighting style earned him the nickname "Boom Boom," a reference to his whirlwind style."
3. Sugar Ray Leonard" - "Former WBC World Middleweight Champion, etc. He attracted audiences with his explosive speed and technique, and made the boxing world more exciting in the late 70s and 80s."
4. Thomas Hearns - "He is known for his Flicker Jabs, accurate punches, and machine-gun-like rushes. Known as "The Hitman," he became the first fighter in history to win five weight classes."
5. Donovan Ruddock - "He is a hard puncher who uses the weapon called the "Smash". He fought Mike Tyson to the death on two occasions immediately after Tyson lost his titles."
6. Drago - "A fictional boxer who appears in the movie "Rocky IV: Flames of Friendship". He is an amateur heavyweight champion of the Soviet Union with a ruthless expression and punches with machine-like accuracy."
7. Yuri Arbachakov - "He came to Japan as part of the "Perestroika Program" with the help from Antonio Inoki, and won the WBC world flyweight title, which he successfully defended nine times."

Column #1 - Round 12[]

"This is the story of "Hajime no Ippo" that leads into some "Unfinished Business".""
He begins a fated confrontation with Ichirō Miyata, who will later become his lifelong rival!

In order to get approval to join the Kamogawa gym, Ippo must spar with the gym's rising star, Ichirō Miyata. Ippo loses, but his surprising strength of guts to get up no matter how many times he falls catches the coach's attention and he is allowed to join. He also was scheduled to spar with Miyata again in three months, and began training with the coach. In the process, Ippo learns an uppercut reminiscent of Jofre and other techniques, and is taught how to escape from Miyata's signature move, the counter. However, when Ippo learned of Miyata's passion for counters, he appealed directly to the coach, saying, "I don't want to run away from counters". He then proceeded to carry out more intense training. And then, the day of the rematch arrived. The match is going at Miyata's pace, but Ippo gives it his all in the final round!

Ichirō Miyata[]

Ichirō Miyata is the current OPBF featherweight champion. When he was a trainee at Kamogawa gym, he sparred with Ippo twice with one win and one loss. He is "Ippo's fated rival", who has been hoping for a rematch in the professional ranks, but due to various twists of fate, they have yet to meet. He is a calm and collected out-boxer, but when he is agitated, he can show some in-fighting. With his superb speed and counters, he aims for the world.

Round 12: Doing What's Left

Interview #3 - Killer Technique[]

"Starting with Ippo's trademark "Dempsey Roll", Miyata's "Cross Counter", Sendō's "Smash", Mashiba's "Flicker Jab", and Volg's "White Fang"... A thorough introduction to the elaborate theories that boxing fanatic Morikawa-sensei sticks to behind the many killer techniques unleashed by these fascinating boxers!"

The Dempsey Roll is directly linked to Ippo's "reason for losing"!? Ippo's killer technique, the Dempsey Roll, was created by Jack Dempsey, who was active around 1920, and uses the in-fighting style. Usually, boxers move with their feet apart, so in orthodox style, for example, the left foot is always in front. Southpaws are the opposite. But the Dempsey Roll doesn't matter once one can reach their opponent. Just think that someone threw a left hook with their right leg as the axis, and then go straight to a right hook with their left leg in front of them. It's basically a "walk forward and hit it hard" style. In fact, Tyson and Mancini, the models for Ippo, have a similar hitting style. But what keeps them from going into the Dempsey is the fact that they pack an overwhelmingly strong punch. If it ends in one or two shots, it can't be a Dempsey.

The idea of having Ippo acquire the Dempsey came from the thought of "how to make Ippo, who has Tyson's fighting style but doesn't punch as hard as Tyson," win. However, originally, Ippo's punches, whether it was a left hook or a right straight, all had the strength to become killing blows. An ordinary boxer would be freaked out by that. But once one gets past a certain level, some fighters don't get scared and start hitting back. Eiji Date is that type. After the Rookie King match against Sendō was over, and around the time Morikawa had him fight Keigo Okita and Eiji Date, Morikawa was thinking, "It's going to be tough for Ippo to win without killer techniques," and sure enough, he lost to Date. Morikawa thought, "this is it," so he had Ippo acquire the Dempsey. However, the Dempsey is just an "ancient technique" and there are in fact many ways to beat it. In fact, after learning to use the Dempsey, Ippo would proceed to lose. Morikawa won't go into detail now about the reason for Ippo's loss, as it's a recent development and is depicted in the story, but it's the same reason why Tyson began to lose in the past.

It was really challenging for Morikawa to draw the Dempsey Roll. There were no references. There was no internet back then, and he could only watch the occasional NHK program like "The History of Boxing". And if he draws it with easily recognisable afterimages of the upper body, it takes about 25 hours per page. In addition, the lower half of the body moves differently from the legs of a normal boxer, so it is difficult to find the right bend in the knees. It is not a killer technique that can be drawn a lot in a weekly series. In fact, the times when the Dempsey Roll appears are rare. The editor who was in charge of him for almost seven years was very happy when Morikawa brought back a Dempsey Roll manuscript once.

Leonard is the model for Miyata, but his counter is in the image of Naoto Takahashi, known as the "Prince of Reversals". Morikawa describes Naoto's Cross Counter as "beautiful". Instead of the usual counter to the opponent's left jab, he dives in for his opponent's straight, avoiding and striking him with a paper-thin blade. He claims that that is a real Cross Counter, matching cannon to cannon, and is why Naoto meets a spectacular end to a match. In a match against Jong-pil Park (朴鍾弼), he tried to counterattack to turn the tables, but was struck by a blow to the head and suffered a brain haemorrhage. That intense match is still very much in Morikawa's memory.

Kimura's "Dragonfish Blow" is a combination of "a left blow to the body followed by a hard right blow". This is the blow that Hearns, the model for Mashiba, had the most difficulty with. One needs the reach and size difference to hit him, and Hearns was tall enough that he didn't get hit so easily, but it was only after he moved up to light heavyweight that he started getting hit more. Morikawa thought about using the blow to torment Mashiba throughout the story, but Ippo didn't have enough reach. That's why he decided to have Kimura do it and gave it the name.

The Flicker Jab, synonymous with Mashiba, is Hearns' signature move. A Philly Shell (L-shaped guard), with the front arm hanging down, similar to the Detroit Style. That style was the one he was most into, letting him hit with a Flicker that would come out from his elbow. The length the hand reaches and the way the hand returns is distinctive, and can be clearly seen in bare hand shadow boxing. It becomes a trajectory like one is trying to grab something.

In addition, Sendō's Smash is his typical dynamic blow. It is a three-quarter blow that is between a hook and an uppercut. He hits with his chin up, so if he gets a counter blow there, he's done. This blow requires a very strong heart to be able to deliver. It's only for fighters like Donovan Ruddock, the model of Sendō, or Japanese fighters like Hiroyuki Yoshino (吉野弘幸), who think "There is no one who can counter me".

There are quite a few fighters who use Date's "Heart Break Shot". Morikawa saw it all the time in the professional ring. When he was in elementary school, there was a popular game called "Choking Game" in which one's heart had to be hit hard with a fist. It's a really dangerous game, but when he got Date to do the "Heart Break Shot", it became a bit popular again. After that, Morikawa refrained from sending it out.

Boxers often target the heart and solar plexus. The one who was hit would instantly stop moving. But the truth is, one can train their solar plexus. Boxers can train solely their solar plexus by lying down and dropping a heavy ball on their stomach. It seems to be rather bearable if one puts in a lot of effort when they think "it's coming". Occasionally there are monsters like Myung-woo Yuh (柳明佑) who say, "I can hear your breathing, so if I hit you when you breathe in, you will fall down". He's good at a series of blows called "Sonagi" (Downpour), but Morikawa wonders how he can hear his opponent's breathing during those blows.

Aoki's killer technique, the "Frog Punch," of course, came from a blow that Kōichi Wajima delivered in his title match with Carmelo Bossi (). People think it's his signature move, but in fact, Wajima has only shown the "Frog Punch" in that match. If one does irregular punches repeatedly, their opponent will be able to make strategies easily.

Volg Zangief's "White Fang" is a super fast combination blow. Morikawa images the White Fang as a blow like the one Naoya Inoue (井上尚弥) used against Payano (パヤノ). It's important to have a sense of speed and tempo as one punches left and right with tons and tons of punches.

When Morikawa draws killer techniques as well as regular blows, he rarely draw from photographs of fights. Videos can be helpful, but photos are still for "I want to stop the moment and save it". We usually don't draw a stopped fist. Of course, there are exceptions. For example, Ippo's body blow is not very cool unless the moment when his fist is buried in the opponent's side is drawn. He draws it with a slightly different mindset than the body blows of other fighters.

Morikawa tries to make sure that the killer techniques work well with each character's personality and characteristics. Sendō's Smash is full of "oresama-ness" and Miyata's counter is connected to his own tragic heroic-like fighting style. The Dempsey Roll can also only be used by boxers like Ippo, who have a monster of a lung capacity and stamina. Whether it is Kimura or Aoki, they have acquired a "killer technique" that only they can throw. If one doesn't have the inevitability of "this is the fighter, so this is the killer technique," it loses its persuasiveness.

1. Jack Dempsey - "A former world heavyweight champion active in the 1920s. Nicknamed "The Manassa Mauler," he is believed to be the first boxer in history to fight with a forward-leaning stance."
2. Naoto Takahashi - "Former Japanese bantamweight and super bantamweight champion. He was known as the "Prince of the Reversal," specialising in Cross Counters."
3. Jong-pil Park" - "Super bantamweight. He defeated Naoto Takahashi by KO in the 9th round. Takahashi was unable to move and went down in this match, suffering a brain haemorrhage and retiring from active duty."
4. Detroit Style - "This is the style that Thomas Hearns specialised in. His weapon of choice was the Flicker Jab, which he released from a relaxed position with his forearm guard down."
5. Hiroyuki Yoshino - "Former Japanese super welterweight, welterweight, and OPBF welterweight champion. He held a record of 12 consecutive KO victories, tied for second in Japan at the time."
6. Myung-woo Yuh - "Former WBA light flyweight champion. He had overwhelming stamina, and his weapon of choice was the "Sonagi" (Downpour), a series of strikes that never stopped once launched."
7. Kōichi Wajima - "Former WBA and WBC super welterweight champion. Known as the "Man of Fire," he is an irregular right-handed boxer known for his "Frog Jump"."
8. Carmelo Bossi - "WBA and WBC junior middleweight champion. The challenger, Kōichi Wajima, played a trick on him, and he lost the decision and fell from the throne."
9. Naoya Inoue - "He has conquered titles in three weight classes: WBC light flyweight, WBO super flyweight, and WBA bantamweight. He is the strongest and most popular champion in Japan today."

Column #3 - Round 193[]

"This is the story of "Hajime no Ippo" so far leading up to Round 193 "Prohibited Finishing Blow""
Ippo, getting stronger with each match, finally gets to the Japanese title match!

Ippo passed the pro test, and won two matches from his debut. He also defeated strong opponents such as Hayami, Kobashi, and Mashiba to earn the East Japan Rookie of the Year and the Best Rookie of the Year titles. He also faced Sendō, the West Japan Rookie of the Year. With a hard-fought victory, he was declared the All Japan Rookie of the Year. He would later win in the Class A Tournament, beating Saeki and Volg. Finally, he decided to challenge for the All Japan featherweight title match. His opponent, Eiji Date, is a man of determination who once retired after losing to world champion Ricardo Martínez, but made a comeback with the intention of a rematch against that same man. Ippo had challenged Date in sparring a few months prior and was easily beaten. Ippo's strongest power vs. Date's expert technique and determination. After a back-and-forth battle of offence and defence, the match reached its climax.

Eiji Date[]

A champion of determination who came back from the bottom to make his rematch with Ricardo happen. He is a former Japanese featherweight champion. He once faced the wall of the world and retired, but returned for what he hoped would be a rematch with the champion, Ricardo Martinez. He was defeated, retired again, and now teaches the next generation. He was a champion who led the Japanese boxing world as an all-round player with his Corkscrew Punch and Heart Break Shot, and with his high level of technique in all aspects of the sport.

Round 193: Prohibited Finishing Blow
Round 194: 5R 2 Minutes 32 Seconds

Column #4 - Round 213[]

"This is the story of "Hajime no Ippo" so far leading up to Round 213 "The Classic Blow""
After the defeat against Date, Ippo tries to learn a new blow...

After suffering his first loss in a Japanese title match against Eiji Date, Ippo realised what he lacked: the determination to win. During his downtime, Sendō and Volg fought fiercely for the champion belt that Date had vacated to challenge for the world again, with Sendō narrowly winning the match by decision. Meanwhile, Ippo's opponent for his comeback match will be the Thai boxer Ponchai Chuwatana, who shows toughness and has never been downed before. Ippo challenges himself to learn a new blow with an eye toward a fighting style that combines offence and defence in order to put into practice coach Kamogawa's words, "hit before getting hit". In his comeback match, Ippo and his opponent Ponchai engaged in a spectacular exchange of blows in the first round. As the second round approached, Ippo told an unusually bold statement to coach Kamogawa, "In the next round, I'll defeat him", before heading to the centre of the ring.

Volg Zangief[]

Volg "White Fang" is a former Soviet Union-born lone boxer who loves his mother. Growing up in the former Soviet Union in a poor mother-son household, he came to Japan with more than 200 amateur fights on his record. He fought Ippo in the Class A Tournament and lost by KO after an intense battle of blows. He also lost a title match against Sendō by a seemingly unreasonable decision and returned to Russia. A few years later, he made a comeback in America and challenged the world under Dankichi Hama. He is an unyielding man who overcame every disadvantage to win the title.

Round 213: Classic Blow

Interview #4 - Match[]

"No "predictions" can be made. The match that unfolded without a predictable outcome, leading Ippo to even retire after that third loss. Between the "reality" that satisfies enthusiasts and the "easy-to-understand" that even beginners can enjoy, Morikawa-sensei's unique techniques are well hidden. Explore the secrets of match portrayals that captivate readers to no end."

When Morikawa draws a match, he is careful not to have it be predictable in anyway. He doesn't want to draw it in a way that makes the reader think, "Well, you know, he is going to win anyway, right?" or "See, I knew he would win." Naturally, once a boxer knows who his opponent will be, he will take measures to beat that opponent. There's no way to win so easily, as every round, they have quite a tough struggle. Even more than his opponents, Ippo needs to be trained to match his opponents.

He also gives a lot of thought to the methods used to convey the match development to the reader in an easy-to-understand manner. The easiest way to do that is to use "a God's voice". The method is to create a square frame within the panel and include a "superior third-party" commentary. Although this is an established technique, the narration is not heard when watching the actual match. The "explanatory text" within a square frame and the "illustrations" that supplement it do not convey a sense of realism and body temperature well. He believes now that manga should be in the form of dialogue, human movement, and drama that the reader can dive into.

The way Morikawa helps the reader to quickly understand how the match unfolds is the role that Kimura, Aoki, Itagaki, Takamura and others in the audience play. However, they can make mistakes as well. The insightful Kimura says, "This is what Ippo is trying to do, isn't it?" but it is actually a misleading statement. Itagaki, Aoki, and Kimura, as fellow boxers, think, "I would do this if I were in Ippo's position," but sometimes this does not quite match up with Ippo's thinking. Then, Takamura, who sees the bigger picture, says, "That's not so," and gradually gets to the bottom of the matter. And then, looking at it from a higher perspective, is coach Kamogawa, who is the second... And that is the pecking order.

He sees himself as a novice mangaka, but his greatest pride is that he is a mangaka who has watched many boxing matches from the closest position in the world. He thinks that he probably has been a second for over 250 matches, and thinks that it's a great learning experience. He was once surprised to see a boxer come back to his corner without being hit at all, but his mouthpiece was covered in blood. Even if one stops the punch with their guard, the momentum smashes them and cuts the inside of their mouth. Other times, they don't even receive a single hit, but they still end up with red welts on their body that look like whip scars. When Morikawa see these things up close, he thinks, "Oh, I'll draw that next time," and finds himself looking at it from a mangaka's point of view.

However, Morikawa is always concerned about how far he can go to get readers to keep following him, because if h is too maniacal, it might not be in line with what they are expecting. He thinks he should keep the hard-to-understand feints and such to a minimum, and move more toward a flashy presentation that displays the action through pictures, like the Dempsey Roll. But during the Volg's world title match, Morikawa drew a rather maniacal feint exchange, which was also very popular. This match was when the volume number exceeded 100 already. He thought it was around that time that readers finally gave him permission to draw what he enjoys. He felt there are two reasons for this. One is that he is getting better at drawing maniacal developments in a way that is more or less easy for readers to understand. The other is that readers are becoming more open-minded and want to read "maniacal depictions of boxing". There is a sense of coming to terms on both sides.

Incidentally, the ringside stoppage and Volg's speech after this match is one of Morikawa's favourite scenes. Volg tells the audience "Thank you" in his native Russian and in English and Japanese. He thinks Volg's character was really captured in that scene. He looks forward to seeing how his characters act when they win and when they lose. He draws a lot of matches other than those of Ippo, but what he is conscious of when he does so is to make sure that he lets Ippo share his thoughts on them. This is a story about Ippo, so every match must be an inspiration and learning experience for Ippo. Of course, other boxers are the main characters in their own lives, but in this story, they also play the role of " nourishment" for the growth of Ippo.

Morikawa was particularly impressed with Mashiba vs. Miyata in the semifinals of the East Japan Rookie King. He was determined to have Miyata win. But during the storyboard meeting, Nouchi, who was the editor In charge said, "The readers will be surprised if Miyata loses this match. Why don't you do that?" Morikawa was the most surprised by this. He always draw with a sense of excitement, not wanting to disappoint the reader's expectations. He was looking forward to the match between Ippo and Miyata, and thought that if he didn't make it happen here, readers would think, "You've got to be kidding me," and would move on. He told Nouchi, "Don't mislead me with such wild ideas!" He dismissed him with strong words.

But when he got home and tried to make the storyboard happen, he couldn't get that whimsical suggestion out of his head. Most of all, he was shocked at his own naivete in not even considering the possibility. He felt that if he didn't do this, he would end up with a "just as predicted" scenario that he disliked the most, so he decided to revisit the character of Mashiba, irrespective of what the outcome would be. And as he got to find out the background behind Mashiba's commitment to boxing and why he cannot lose, he gradually began to see it. "Miyata is the better player on the canvas, so I think the best pattern for Mashiba to win would be "foul play."" "When he steps on his foot, Miyata will react like this," "After that, Mashiba will be in a great mood and hit repeatedly," "Ippo will react like this when he sees this," "After losing, Miyata will not come out of the medical room," "Ippo will see this while trembling with anger." The reactions of the characters come to life one after another, and a story is created.

Still sceptical, Morikawa started drawing without deciding who would win and who would lose. But as he continued to draw, the two of them were more skilled than he had thought. At a certain point, he thought, "Oh, Miyata is going to lose this one." After the match, there is a scene in which Ippo angrily hits a vending machine and leaves, a scene that Nouchi liked very much. Even though Miyata lost there, he became more and more popular, which made the person in charge do a guts pose. He couldn't help but feel frustrated seeing Nouchi's goofy face.

Even now, a single word from the person in charge can change the way things are presented. The storyboard is a rough sketch, so sometimes the person in charge reads it differently from what Morikawa had in mind. He learned how to mislead the reader, for example, "Oh, if that's the kind of misconception I'm going to make, then I'll make it that way." If a mangaka finds even one of the one hundred comments that an editor makes that he or she can apply to the work, he or she will make use of it. Morikawa thinks it is a matter of attitude and ability on the part of the artist to be aware of this and to make the most of it.

Column #5 - Round 264[]

"This is the story of "Hajime no Ippo" so far leading up to Round 264 "Premonition of Demise""
Directly handpicked by the Japanese champion, the "Lallapallooza" begins!

After Ippo's victory against Ponchai, Sendō, who was watching from the stands, issued a challenge to Ippo with a mic performance. During Ippo's downtime, the members of the Kamogawa gym get into a lively conversation about the stories of Aoki and Kimura's adventures during their high school days. Then, Ippo watches the Sendō vs. Saeki match and thinks that the Dempsey Roll as it is now is not good enough against Sendō. With the match with Sendō set to take place in four months, Ippo decides to train at a mountain cabin with Nekota. In addition, he will also be "dojo storming sparring" at five gyms. As the match approaches, the catchphrase for the Sendō vs. Ippo match is decided to be "Lallapallooza" (literally, "the rumbling of the ground"). Indeed, the match turned out to be a punching match that had the crowd going wild and the ground shaking with excitement. Both become stronger as they fight. The match enters its final stage...

Takeshi Sendō[]

The man is the "Tiger of Naniwa," a man who is not only wild, but also proud of his strength. Former Japanese featherweight champion. His parents died when he was a child, and he lives with his grandmother who runs a small candy shop. He is a strong boxer with a powerful smash as his special technique. He fought Ippo for two big titles, the All-Japan Rookie King title and the Japanese featherweight title, losing both matches after almost evenly matched battles. He is competitive and has a violent temper, but he also has a compassionate and good-natured side.

Round 264: Premonition of Demise
Round 265: DEAD OR ALIVE

Column #6 - Round 282[]

"This is the story of "Hajime no Ippo" so far leading up to Round 282 "Premonition of Danger""
Kimura has a big battle with his retirement on the line as he takes on the eerie "Grim Reaper"!

Ippo finally became the Japanese champion by defeating Sendō. The joy is short-lived, however, as Kumi informed him that he may not see her again. The reason was because the decision of the title match between Kimura and Mashiba (Kumi's brother). Before his fight with the superior Mashiba, Kimura has Miyata be his sparring partner. From there, Kimura left the Kamogawa gym and practised in solitude, successfully learning the Dragonfish Blow, a special technique for the fight against Mashiba. He declared, "If I lose, I'll retire," and the match began. The gong of destiny rang, and Kimura was tormented by Mashiba's Flicker from the beginning of the match. But gradually, he continued to foreshadow a comeback...

Ryō Mashiba[]

The wielder of the "Grim Reaper's Scythe" is the older brother of Kumi, whom Ippo has feelings for. He passed the Pro Test at the same time as Ippo. In the East Japan Rookie King semi-finals, he beat Ippo's rival Miyata by dirty means and then lost to an angry Ippo in the finals of the same tournament. He later moved up to the junior lightweight class and won the Japanese title. He struggled against Tatsuya Kimura in his title defence match, but managed to win. He lost by fouling against Sawamura, but moved up a weight class again after his return and is now the OPBF lightweight champion.

Round 282: Premonition of Danger

Interview #5 - Champion[]

"One of the best bouts in Hajime no Ippo is "Takamura vs. Hawk. Takamura, who is ahead of the other fighters, speaks to Ippo about "the line", questioning his commitment as a champion. Hajime no Ippo is a story that pays utmost respect to the greatness of the world champion. Hear about Morikawa-sensei's strong commitment to "the world"."

Morikawa always thought, "Ippo can't become a world champion as he is now," as he drew him. In volume 109, Takamura and Ippo were talking on the riverbank. In the scene of the "Line of Non-Humans," he says, "The place of world champions is inhabited only by non-humans, so don't come in if you want to stay human" This was something Morikawa came up with around volume 30. Rather, it could be said that Ippo had to gain such experience in order to have this kind of conversation with Takamura, and that he was making Ippo increase his experience by planning backward from the future. There was also the scene in which Eiji Date tells Ippo about the weight of a champion's fist. Morikawa can't go into detail now, though, because the significance of these scenes will have a bearing on future developments.

Hearing about non-humans and the weight of fists, the average person might think, "Is being a world champion really that great?". But it is indeed really that great. For example, Daisuke Naitō was training at Morikawa's gym when he was a fourth rounder, and in those days, things were different. At that time, Morikawa couldn't get any sparring sessions for him in his weight class, the flyweight class. He would go up against a boxer two or more weight classes above him and dominate them. Morikawa thought, "If this guy doesn't win in the world stage, who can?"

Also, Morikawa thinks Eiji Date would have been world champion if not for Ricardo Martínez. In fact, there are many such boxers. Eijirō Murata, who won the OPBF bantamweight title, failed in all four of his world title challenges, but two of those were draws with notable champions Lupe Pintor and Jeff Chandler. At that time, he was ranked first in both the WBA and WBC at the same time. Even that strong fighter did not reach the level of a world champion. The world champions are chosen by fate, and they are extraordinary people.

Morikawa believes that "a world champion need not personality." Of course, he wishes that they do have "personality." But since they are "strong people from birth," he doesn't think there is any reason for them to have so much personality. There are mangaka, too. People who can draw well from childhood and create stories effortlessly might not have personality. Tetsuya Chiba, whom he admires and still aspires to be like, is the same type of person who creates his works while suffering. The sensei has one of the best personalities among mangaka. But there are also the type of mangaka in the world who say, "He has a screwed up personality, but if you give him money and let him keep going, you'll get a tremendous return". He knows it must be annoying for the editors though.

With that in mind, neither of the two characters in the Takamura vs. Hawk match have good character. This kind of battle of wills between the two was also interesting to portray. A boxer Morikawa likes as much as Thomas Hearns is Roberto Durán. He has strong punches known as "Hands of Stone," his reflexes are sharp, and his movements are wild. He is the model of Takamura. So, about 20 years after Morikawa had become a big fan of Durán, a whopper of a boxer appeared on the scene. That is Naseem Hamed, the "Devil Prince," who plays with his opponents with his creative moves. He is the only boxer in the world who can throw a KO punch even with one leg in the air. Morikawa once talked to Jōichirō Tatsuyoshi about him, and he said, "He is not just a boxer with strong arm strength. He is a boxer who is terrifyingly good at shifting his weight.

So Morikawa wondered what would happen if he made Hamed the model for Hawk and have him fight Takamura who is based on Durán. It was like a dream title match of "Durán vs. Hamed" in the magazine. As a boxing fan, he started to get into the groove of drawing, but it was tough. Hamed's movements are so unique that he just didn't know how to draw them. However, the match between these two had powerful punches. he thinks it's the same in all sports manga, not just boxing, but there is a big problem: "The more sophisticated the manga is, the less powerful it becomes." The ideal jab in boxing is one that is released with minimal shoulder movement and appears to the opponent as a "fist that suddenly gets bigger." Actually, this is the most difficult to make powerful when it comes to drawing. It is easier to understand and more powerful to use a punch that blasts the opponent straight up with a big motion, as is often depicted in manga featuring bad guys. No professional would take such an obvious telephone punch. But in "Takamura vs. Hawk," he thinks that the bigger movements made it more powerful, because the fighters hit while avoiding each other's punches with irregular movements.

The setting of Takamura being a son of a wealthy family and a sis-con with many siblings came to Morikawa as he was drawing the scene. First, Takamura likes women but has no girlfriend. The reason for this fits well with the fact that he is a sis-con and, while he has many siblings, he is not the eldest son. If he is a disruptive, erudite, but caring person, he has to be the second son. It felt like the family structure was gradually being solidified.

At first, Morikawa did not think that Takamura would become a man who talked about how he would dominate six weight classes. This is because there was no Japanese champions in the middleweight world stage, to which Takamura belonged, at that time. It was "Class of God's," with superstars such as Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Thomas Hearns. Also, it was not so easy to draw a two weight class domination and unified title match. It was a time when Hiroki Ioka had won two weight classes at minimumeight and light flyweight, but failed at the third weight class. Also, Jirō Watanabe challenged for the WBC title while holding the WBA title, but since the WBA and WBC have different rounds and rules, according to the regulations at the time, he was told that his WBA belt would be revoked once he entered the ring to challenge for the WBC title. Even so, Watanabe went ahead and went up there. So, the situation was that he won that victory, and he wore two belts in the ring, but it's really only one. But this Watanabe was also a super flyweight.

There really wasn't anyone in the middleweight class who could see the world stage. Therefore, Morikawa made Takamura lose weight and let him win the junior middleweight title. Then, in 1995, Shinji Takehara finally became the WBA world middleweight champion. This is, of course, a first for a Japanese and the second for an Asian. When he saw this, he thought to himself, "A Japanese person can also win this." It was a major event that seemed to open up a path at a time when he had been worrying about the development after Takamura's junior middleweight title match.

And after Takamura won the middleweight title, Manny Pacquiao emerged. A monster has emerged from Asia to dominate six weight classes. All the little boundaries in Morikawa's head have been removed now. Takamura's "anything is possible" image was born thanks to those two.

Mamoru Takamura is the only world champion at Kamogawa gym at this time. The development of Hajime no Ippo will change depending on how far he goes in his rush. Morikawa will continue to draw it with a sense of excitement.

1. Daisuke Naitō - "Former WBC world flyweight champion. In his first defence, he won in a perfect match against Daiki Kameda, the second son of the Kameda brothers, winning a decision. It led to national popularity."
2. Eijirō Murata - "OPBF bantamweight champion. He failed to challenge the world on four occasions, but had a draw with two famous champions in the Hall of Fame, and is also known as a boxer with tragic luck."
3. Lupe Pintor" - "Former WBC world bantamweight champion and former WBC world super bantamweight champion. A native of Mexico, he is known as the "Aztec Warrior.""
4. Jeff Chandler - "Former world bantamweight champion. He had a draw in his first match against Eijirō Murata and then won the next two. It was the biggest battle for Murata."
5. Roberto Durán - "WBA world super welterweight champion and four other weight classes. A fighter from Panama, he is known for his wild and powerful strikes, which earned him the nickname "Hands of Stone.""
6. Naseem Hamed - "Former IBF/WBO/WBC world featherweight champion. He is nicknamed "Devil Prince" for his creative and genius style of playing with his opponents."
7. Jōichirō Tatsuyoshi - "A man who has won the WBC world bantamweight title three times. He is popular for his flashy "take down or be taken down" matches."
8. Telephone Punch - "A punch that strikes after a large swing from a fist that was up to the ear. It is called this because the fist drawn up to the ear looks like a person making a phone call."
9. Marvin Hagler - "He is a famous champion who made 12 consecutive defences as the unified world middleweight champion. He was a southpaw and an all-around fighter dubbed "Mr. Perfect"."
10. Hiroki Ioka - "Former WBC world minimumweight champion, ans former WBA world light flyweight champion. He is also known as the last pupil of the famous trainer Eddie Townsend."
11. Jirō Watanabe - "Former WBA/WBC world super flyweight champion. As the WBA champion, he planned a unification match with the WBC, but the WBA did not recognise it, and although he won, he did not unify the titles."
12. Shinji Takehara - "He became the first Japanese to win the world middleweight title, but lost it in his first defence six months later. He retired when it was discovered that he had retinal detachment."
13. Manny Pacquiao - "A Filipino hero who was active from the late 1990s to the mid-2010s, conquering six weight classes from light flyweight to super welterweight."

Column #7 - Round 395[]

"This is the story of "Hajime no Ippo" so far leading up to Round 395 "Unknown Animal""
The Kamogawa gym unites in preparation for Takamura's first world fight!

Around the time that Ippo made his first successful defence against Kazuki Sanada, Miyata won the OPBF title. Date challenged Ricardo Martínez in a rematch, which he longed for, but was unfortunately defeated. The Kamogawa gym became even more lively when a promising newcomer, Itagaki, joined the gym. Then, Ippo wins a defence match against his former junior pupil, Hammer Nao (Geromichi). After Kamogawa gym's annual summer training camp, Takamura's world challenge is finally set! Takamura won a hard-fought preliminaries to the world title match, and now he is ready to face the most fearsome champion of all, Bryan Hawk. After a back-and-forth battle between the ever-changing and wild Hawk and Takamura, the fight turned into a brawl, with Takamura gaining the upper hand. Will the world champion's belt finally be tied around Takamura's waist!?

Mamoru Takamura[]

WBA/WBC unified world middleweight champion. He is the strongest boxer who started his six weight class domination in the junior middleweight division. He is also the man who helped to get Ippo onto the path of boxing. He is a no-nonsense character and reigns as the emperor at the Kamogawa gym. However, in addition to his overwhelming ability, he is also respected by his kōhai for his sincere approach to boxing and his words and actions in favour of his friends, and is mysteriously well-liked.

Round 395: Unknown Animal
Round 396: 10 Count

Interview #6 - Teacher and Student[]

"Coach Kamogawa, Takamura, and Ippo. The story is filled with a number of fascinating teacher-student relationships, including the Miyata father and son duo and the Miguel Zale and Wally duo. As Morikawa owns his own gym and has been supporting fighters as a second for more than 250 fights, he has some golden words to say about the "ideal teacher-student relationship"."

The model for Genji Kamogawa is, basically 'every stubborn old man in the world'. Add a bit of legendary trainer Eddie Townsend's taste to the mix, and you have an "old man who is stubborn but tries his best to understand the feelings of the youngsters". Morikawa felt that Kamogawa had to change after meeting Takamura and Ippo. Because, first of all, one wouldn't dare listen to what Takamura would say, would they? One can't manage Takamura just by being a stubborn old man. Kamogawa respects Takamura in a way and is grateful to him. And in the story, he says "I've been given a gym with a world champion". On the other hand, Nekota suggested in the story that Ippo would be the first world champion that Kamogawa will have to create by himself. To Kamogawa, Ippo's way may be a little innocent. But pupils who need a lot of work are sometimes innocent anyway.

Using the analogy of the relationship between a mangaka and their editor, the editor-in-charge may be a veteran author like Morikawa working with a newcomer who is just starting out, together. Morikawa's responsibilities were such that he only had to worry about when the manuscripts would be ready, and there were barely any meetings to discuss the story. What Morikawa would do as an editor-in-charge is a kind of forced criticism of the storyboard and manuscripts that come in. On the other hand, when working with newcomers, it takes probably many times as much effort to make a series with them as it does to encourage them while giving them bad advice. Which is more fun depends on the person, but if a newcomer like Ippo said, "I'm not very good at this, but I'll do my best!" Morikawa thinks it would be funny.

Although the series of chapters called the "Post-War Arc" that Morikawa has included in this book first appeared in volume 45, he had already started to think that he wanted to draw it when he was drawing volumes 7 and 8. But his friend stopped him, saying "You're too naive! If you draw something like that, you'll instantly lose your popularity." So Morikawa became a bit more cautious. He went about preparing two methods for it to be drawn when the time came. The first was to gradually learn more about post-war boxing from resources while working on the series. For example, reading a book by Piston Horiguchi, who was active in the early Showa period and was nicknamed "Kensei", he said that although it was a different era, he would fight once a month and often had four 10-round matches in one week. Morikawa believed it was so awesome and messed up. Studying these books will gradually give one some background information. There were things like steam locomotives running and open-air rings. The backbone of the story slowly filled in.

The second part of the preparation is to prepare the characters. First, Ginpachi Nekota was presented as an old friend of Kamogawa's, and Dankichi Hama as a trainer for Kazuki Sanada, who fought Ippo. And with Miguel Zale as Bryan Hawk's second, we finally have the characters. Miguel Zale's use of the word "samurai" in the Hawk fight is, of course, a reference to the "Post-War Arc" that lied ahead.

When Morikawa put out Nekota as a stepping stone, Nouchi-san, the editor in charge was extremely amused. He suddenly says "~dani" and his face looks like something out of a gag manga. However, he was actually modelled after Morikawa's grandfather. He was about 80 years old at the time, and about two years before he died, he was hospitalised and weighed about 35 kg. That figure at the time was like Nekota. They laughed at Morikawa, so he complained and said, "You guys are being too rude".

In the Post-War Arc, Hiroshima appears as a key word, but Morikawa purposely did not use the word 'atomic bomb' because it is a story about people who are working hard to rebuild after the war. Yuki, the heroine, died of an illness, but he didn't draw her based around that, instead he impressionistically portrayed her as "as bright as a sunflower". Morikawa believes it was a good decision.

In addition to Kamogawa and Takamura/Ippo, the story also features a number of teacher-student relationships, including the Miyata father/son duo, Yanaoka and Sendō, Dankichi Hama and Volg, Bill Stewart and Ricardo Martínez, Miguel Zale and Bryan Hawk. Among them, the most impressive for Morikawa are Miguel Zale and Wally. Zale originally appeared as Bryan Hawk's second, but the relationship between the two is probably that Hawk, the fighter, sees Zale, his second, as just his "employer". At its root, this employment relationship means that even Zale, who is supposed to be a great teacher, essentially has no control over Hawk.

Wally, on the other hand, is a talent whom Zale himself is so invested in that he calls him his "Last Sun" he found in Indonesia. He has outstanding wild talent, and when he fought Ippo, the only thing he lacked was experience. Wally also has a lot of respect and trust for Zale, and he has a very straightforward personality. There is no way it will end like this. Morikawa is sure those two will be back again, with an even higher level of excellence.

Ippo now works as a trainer at the Kamogawa gym. Morikawa has heard that retired boxers, when they look at the ring from the outside, usually think, "NOW I'll be stronger". Furthermore, watching the matches as a second is a real learning experience, and the desire to fight grows more and more. But after two years of being away from the ring without rigorous training after retirement, it's indeed impossible to come back. They will lose as soon as they return because it isn't a soft world.

Morikawa has been a second for a lot of boxers, but if one asked him what the ideal second is, he wouldn't be able to easily answer that. The word "second" (セコンド, sekondo) was originally "second" (セカンド, sekando). It means that they are the second leading role, after the fighters. The relationship between the first and second is important, and in simple terms, each boxer has their own "ideal second". For example, Ippo, who lost his father at an early age, likes people who genuinely scold him. Ippo's mother is strong, but she is very lenient with him. So when coach Kamogawa scolds Ippo, he is happy and thinks "This is it!" He must be very masochistic. Meanwhile, Kamogawa also treats Takamura's opponents with respect, even when the two are at the ringside.

The second's job is ultimately to get the fighter home safe and sound. It is entirely possible that a fighter may have an accident and not be able to return home, either in the ring or after the match. This "getting the fighters home safely" is the most important job, followed by "getting them to win". If they cannot do so, let them go home with their chests up. If that too does not come to pass, make sure to have a good reflection meeting. Falls may happen in the ring, but that is what good seconds are for.

What is important is still the usual relationship of trust. Such a relationship can only be established if they properly respect each other and appreciate each other's presence. The boxer thinks "I respect this teacher, so I can deliver the one-two as instructed, with confidence", and the second thanks the fighter for materialising their ideals and instructions. Some seconds yell at their boxers without giving them a chance to explain and crush the dignity of the athlete, but that's not right. Ultimately, it is the master-disciple relationship, where they believe in each other and have no regrets no matter what happens, that is important.

1. Eddie Townsend - "Boxing trainer. A master teacher who has trained six world champions, including Guts Ishimatsu and Hiroki Ioka. His wife was Japanese."
2. Piston Horiguchi - "He was an iconic figure in Japanese boxing in the early Showa period and was known as the "Kensei" (Saint Fist)."